Singer of Band That Survived Mass Shooting Under Fire for Criticizing March for Our Lives

Apr 05, 2018

By: Robert Davis

The lead singer of Eagles of Death Metal, the band that was performing during the 2015 mass shooting in Paris that claimed the lives of 89 people, took to social media to criticize gun control and the students who took part in the recent March for Our Lives (MFOL) protests.

Jesse Hughes, the Eagles’ lead singer, called the students “disgusting vile abusers of the dead” in a rant on his Instagram page, where he mockingly declared, “Obviously … The best thing to do to combat chronic abusers and disregarders of the law (like the law against Murder) is to ... pass another Law. But before we pass this law we’re going to denigrate the memory and curse ourselves by exploiting the death of 16 of our fellow students for a few Facebook likes and some media attention.”

Rolling Stone published a few lines of Hughes’ post before it was taken down after fans turned against the band’s front man.

“Look how well civil rights abuses as it concerns firearms helped to protect me and my friends in Paris,” Hughes wrote.

“As the survivor of a mass shooting I can tell you from first-hand experience that all of you protesting and taking days off from school insult the memory of those who were killed and abuse and insult me and every other lover of liberty by your every action,” Hughes continued.

“This almost sounds like the plan of a kid, maybe like a high school student,” Hughes wrote about the students’ demands for stricter gun control laws. “Oh wait, that’s right ... The Whitney Houston song about letting the children lead the way wasn’t actually (an) operating paradigm for life.”

This is not the first time Hughes’ has expressed his opposition to gun control. In 2017, he said in an interview, “Until nobody has guns, everybody has to have them.”
Every post Hughes has made on Instagram since March 17, 2018 has been met with fierce opposition from MFOL supporters.

“Exploiting your status as a shooting survivor to attack children who are trying to make a change. You are disgusting,” one comment read.

“Violence is never the solution to any problem. If you love guns more than human lives you are already headed down the path of evil,” another commenter said.
Both the band and its management company declined to comment on this story.

Robert Davis is a journalist from Colorado. He covers defensive gun use and Second Amendment litigation for Gunpowder Magazine. Contact him at RobertDavis0414@gmail.com.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Gunpowder Magazine.